Country diary

The Malmesbury swans have moved. Who knows what drives humankind to up sticks and remove, and even more mysterious are the compulsions on wildlife. The swans have been a summertime entertainment for years. They have nested every spring on the bank of the Avon, Tetbury branch, at the foot of a long garden and in the shadow of the gaunt remains of Malmesbury Abbey, only partly destroyed by Henry VIII in his orgy of vandalism and still a landmark from miles away. From the other side of the river, where a green space provides leisure and parking facilities, local residents and visitors have seen the progress of the year's cygnets under the ever-watchful eyes of their parents. The family group have remained together until autumn, when the cob and pen advise their now well-grown cygnets to be off and find their own water for next year.

The parents have not moved far. We found the nesting site for this year just above the waterfall, 200 yards downstream from their long-term nesting site. The pen was clearly on the nest, incubating eggs, with the cob on guard only a few yards away. There was some danger of rats getting at the nest, it was rumoured last year, so perhaps the move is explained by that need to relocate to a site of presumed greater safety. It will be some time before the cygnets appear, and a female mallard who emerged from the riverside rushes, followed by a clutch of nine tiny furry ducklings, must have won the race to be first to show off the season's offspring. The ducklings were evidently enjoying the warm sunshine of the afternoon on the river as their mother scooted around trying to keep them in convoy. There is another possible swan nesting site on this stretch of the river, at the far end of the town and below Avon Mills, but we did not have time on this visit to check that one out.